My friend and I managed to find some time to sneak into the woods for a hike. As you can see, there was no snow. Decidely un-Christmasy. But it was peaceful, and we came across some huge holly trees which I thought you’d like seeing.

So here’s one, growing with other trees:

Yes, it had berries.

As is so often the case in RI, there were many beautiful stone walls. Here, they surrounded an old homestead. This is the cellar hole.

Here are some stone steps. The probably sat at the entrance to the house. Every part of the house is gone now, and only the stone remains.

Mosses provided the occasional spark of bright green.

This dead tree had a lot going on. The shape was interesting, smoothed by years of wind and weather. Notice the perfect round holes. They’re not in a pattern, like the ones a sapsucker would make. Probably the work of insects.

This tree made me wonder about why something this old and obviously long dead was still standing, while other trees had fallen.

There are many unanswered questions in the woods.

Yuck! That last line sounded so melodramatic and pretentious. Please forgive me, and Happy New Year, everybody.

Thanks, Martha. As you know, we never had holly growing in Quebec, so I was thrilled to find it in the woods when I moved here. These were large trees, though, some of the largest I have seen.
Have a great 2014!